A Winter's Tale
by forestwife
Summary: Songfic. TenRose. PostDoomsday. In the freezing temperatures of a Russian winter, the Doctor stands alone in the blizzard. It's Christmas, the time for good cheer, but still his hearts are cold. He thinks about, and mourns the loss of his Rose. Please R


Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Never have, never will… except in my dreams.

A/N: Hey everyone! I heard this song the other day, and thought that it could apply to the Doctor and Rose. But for this to work please pretend that the Bride never appeared in the TARDIS at the end of Doomsday! This one-shot can stand alone, or it can tie in with my stories Never Say Never Ever, and Forbidden Power. (But you don't have to have read them to read and understand this, it was just something I noticed once I'd nearly finished it!)

Enjoy!

A Winter's Tale

_The nights are colder now,_

_Maybe I should close the door._

The Doctor had been standing for several hours in the doorway of the TARDIS, watching the snowstorm outside. He'd landed in the sub-zero temperatures of Russia on Christmas Day, but couldn't gather any enthusiasm to go exploring.

As he watched the flurries of snowflakes being blown around by the gale, he thought about how it would've been, had the circumstances been different. Rose would've insisted on them bundling up under many layers of clothes and going straight outside for a snowball fight or something. Then, later, when they were getting too cold to feel their fingers, they'd would've come back inside the TARDIS, to find warm dry clothes and hot cups of hot chocolate ready and waiting for them.

However, as it was, his fingers were turning blue and frost was forming on his skin. But he didn't shiver, and made no move to go inside away from the cold. He also didn't feel like going outside. There probably wasn't anything out there anyway. Not that that would've stopped him and Rose when they were together. Together they were fearless, unstoppable, on top of the world, a team. But they'd also been careless, and naïve. They should've known that sooner or later, it would have to end.

What was it Queen Victoria had said? _"I don't know what you are, the two of you. Or where you're from. But I know that you consort with stars and magic, and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror, and blasphemy, and death. And I will not allow it. You will leave these shores. And you will reflect I hope on how you came to stray so far from all that it good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life."_

Well, she'd been right.

_And anyway the snow has covered all your footsteps,_

_And I could follow you no more._

There had been a time when nothing could've kept the Doctor away from Rose. Nothing could've stopped him from finding her, and saving her from whatever trouble she'd managed to get herself in.

But now, there was no way for him to follow her where she'd gone this time. It was impossible for him to see her ever again. So although strictly speaking, she was still alive, she was dead to him.

Rose lived on in the Doctor's world, only in his memories.

_The fire still burns at night,_

_My memories are warm and clear._

At the moment, the Doctor could recall Rose's face, her smile, her mannerisms in exact detail. But he knew that over time, his memories of her would fade, become fuzzy and gradually disappear.

He could never forget her altogether, but there would come a time when he wouldn't be able to remember the sound of her laugh, the exact curve of her smile, the feel of her skin, warm against his, or the way that her warm hand felt in his cool one.

_But everybody knows it's hard to be alone,_

_At this time of year._

The Doctor remembered last Christmas, when he'd been going through his regeneration sickness, and the Sycorax had invaded the Earth. Rose had had to manage without him, but they'd saved the day in the end, and everyone had gone home happy (or nearly everyone anyway).

He'd actually stayed and had Christmas dinner with Rose and her family. He'd allowed himself to go domestic for this most important of Earth celebrations, and it hadn't hurt as much as he'd thought it would.

Sure he'd felt the pangs of homesickness, sitting eating dinner with a family. But he'd also enjoyed himself. Not like this Christmas. This Christmas his heart ached in a familiarly painful way. He'd loved and lost again. But this time he'd lost his Rose.

_It was only a winter's tale,_

_Just another winter's tale._

_And why should the world take notice,_

_Of one more love that's failed._

Rose had done what she did to save the world. The breech had been closing while there were still thousands of Cybermen and Daleks roaming the streets and skies of the world. Had it closed completely, the world would've been lost, and billions of people would've died.

But Rose had pulled the lever back up, and had nearly had to pay the ultimate price. Pete had saved her, but Rose had still had to suffer for saving the world. She'd made her decision. She'd chosen staying with the Doctor over staying in the other world with her family. But now she was stuck in the parallel universe forever. And the Doctor was left in their world. Alone.

What possibly made the situation even worse was the fact that no one in the world even knew what the 20 year old shop girl from the Powell Estate had done. She'd just been presumed dead.

_The love that can never be,_

_Though it meant a lot to you and me._

_On a world wide scale,_

_We're just another winter's tale._

Rose loved him, and he loved Rose. It cut him deep inside knowing that he'd never told her so. He hoped that she already knew, or could at least guess what he'd been about to say when the rift closed for the final time.

When he'd first discovered that he loved Rose. The Doctor had known that he was in trouble, and that there was no way it could ever have a happy ending. He was a Time Lord, and she was human.

Even if nothing had torn them apart, death would've come for Rose eventually. And he would've had to outlive her by centuries. But no one could ever compare to Rose. He would've spent those years alone, just as he did now.

_While I stand alone,_

_A bell is ringing far away,_

_I wonder if you hear, I wonder if you're listening,_

_I wonder where you are today._

The Doctor hoped that Rose could put her sorrows behind her and get on with her life. He hoped that she was having a good Christmas with her family, and getting ready for the New Year.

But somehow he knew that at that moment, like him, she was standing looking at the sky, thinking about what they'd each lost.

_Good luck, I wish you well,_

_For all that wishes may be worth,_

_I hope that love and strength, are with you for the length,_

_Of your time on Earth._

However, the more the Doctor thought about his and Rose's new situation, the more that he thought that for Rose, this was in fact a blessing in disguise.

Sure they'd been separated, but really, how long had any of his companions lasted with him, through their adventures? It was most likely that Rose would've been killed sooner rather than later. And now, in her new life, even though it was bound to be less exciting than life on the TARDIS, she was having the chance to have the one adventure that he could never truly have. But was it an adventure that she wanted?

_It was only a winter's tale,_

_Just another winter's tale._

_And why should the world take notice,_

_Of one more love that's failed._

No one on planet Earth in this time would ever know about the Time Lord and 21st century girl that loved each other. As far as they were concerned, Rose Tyler died during the battle of Canary wharf, and he never even existed.

_It's a love that can never be,_

_Though it meant a lot to you and me._

_On a world wide scale,_

_We're just another winter's tale._

So now the Doctor took a step out of the TARDIS, and stood alone in the midst of the blizzard. He knew that he couldn't live out his lives accepting that he would never see Rose again. Just as he knew she wouldn't be able to either. He would love her for all eternity, and she was the only one he'd ever felt quite this way about.

He wouldn't give up on her. He would find a way back to her.

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Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me!

And everyone have a Merry Christmas!


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